MITCHELL, Susan K. . Animal Chemical Combat: Poisons, Smells, and Slime diags. ISBN 978-0-7660-3294-1 . LC 2008011450. MITCHELL, Susan K. . Animal Mimics: Look-Alikes and Copycats ISBN 978-0-7660-3293-4 . LC 2008011449. MITCHELL, Susan K. . Animals with Awesome Armor: Shells, Scales, and Exoskeletons ISBN 978-0-7660-3296-5 . LC 2008011456. MITCHELL, Susan K. . Animals with Crafty Camouflage: Hiding in Plain Sight diag. ISBN 978-0-7660-3291-0 . LC 2008011073. MITCHELL, Susan K. . Animals with Wicked Weapons: Stingers, Barbs, and Quills ISBN 978-0-7660-3292-7 . LC 2008011075. ea vol: 48p. (Amazing Animal Defenses Series). photos. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Enslow 2008. PLB $23.93. Gr 2-4 Broader in focus than the Gross-Out Defenses series, this set groups animals by type of defensive (and sometimes offensive) behavior or capability. Combat , for instance, opens with a look at snakes and monarch butterflies, closes with marine ink squirters and the ever-popular hagfish, and in between recounts the unfortunate consequences of bothering such animals as stink bugs and the slow loris (It produces a poison that smells like stinky gym socks). The close-up photos are frequent and well chosen, and accompanied by clear, simply phrased texts, which are more detailed than average and take up most or all of the space on each page. An unusual feature is each volume's closing discussion of human equivalents, such as what spies do in Mimics , and how Kevlar works in Armor.

These titles introduce the various ways in which animals defend themselves against predators, from fighting back to blending in. Bright photographs enliven the writing, but the many captions, callout boxes, and "Wild Fact" feature make the pages look busy and interrupt the flow of the main texts. Nevertheless, the high-interest topics will keep readers engaged. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.